MAUREEN WARUINGE ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST

03 June 2022

• The lion's share of his wealth comes from his business ventures and endorsements

• James' basketball career has brought in more than $385 million

Lebron James' basketball career has brought in more than $385 million, according to Forbes, but the lion's share of his wealth comes from his business ventures and endorsements, including with Nike, Walmart, Beats by Dre, and the Blaze Pizza chain.

James is currently missing the playoffs for just the fourth time in 19 seasons.

Los Angeles Lakers signed James for $153 million in 2018 and recently re-signed him for another two years at $85.7 million, a base salary of just under $44.5 million.

The Los Angeles Lakers megastar, a four-time NBA champion and the league's No. 2 career scorer made $121.2 million from May 2021 to May 2022 in on-court salary and off-court earnings, according to Forbes. The total trailed only that of Lionel Messi, who made $130 million, on Forbes' highest-paid athlete's list.

James has made more than $385 million in salary from his 19-year career with the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Miami Heat.

Forbes' estimates for where James made the rest of his $1 billion:

• More than $500 million from cash and investments. Along with SpringHill, James made money from the sale of Beats by Dre to Apple in 2014 and has shares in fitness company Beachbody.

• $90 million from Fenway Sports Group. James was at one time a minority owner of Liverpool FC. He exchanged that for an estimated 1% ownership stake in Fenway Sports Group. The group owns Liverpool, Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox, and half of Roush Fenway Racing and recently agreed to spend $900 million to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins.

• About $80 million in real estate holdings, including a $10 million mansion in Akron, Ohio, and two homes in the Los Angeles area for which James paid a combined $59.75 million.

• Interests in the food and beverage industry that include $30 million in pizza chain Blaze Pizza, which James bought a 10% stake in for less than $1 million in 2012.

The 37-year-old superstar spoke about his desire to hit billionaires in 2014 in a GQ interview.

He exclaimed that;

"I want to maximize my business, and if I happen to get it, if I happen to be a billion-dollar athlete, ho. Hip hip hooray! Oh, my god. I'm gonna be excited."